Guatemala - Giammattei implicated in massive bribery scheme
President Giammattei faces serious corruption allegations. Unfortunately, the systemic undermining of Guatemala’s anti-corruption systems in recent years means he may get away with it.
Last week, El Faro broke the news of a large bribery scheme orchestrated by President Alejandro Giammattei to finance his 2019 presidential campaign. The bribes —worth $2.6 million— came from construction companies who paid Giammattei to keep José Luis Benito on as Minister of Communications, Infrastructure, and Housing to facilitate corruption in publicly managed infrastructure projects. Witness testimony identifies twelve highway contracts tainted by this bribery scheme (valued at about $191 million), eleven of which have already been awarded and are ongoing. Tendering for the final contract is currently taking place.
This scandal marks the continuation of endemic corruption in Guatemala and underscores how much judicial recourse against corruption has weakened in recent years. The dissolution of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) in 2019 under then-President Jimmy Morales marked an especially grave moment for judicial independence in Guatemala, and the attacks against prosecutors and justices continue unabated.
The details of the corruption scheme are staggering. While José Luis Benito appears to have been the lynchpin for the bribery scheme, several other senior figures and government agencies were involved in the scheme. Among those named by El Faro are Giogio Bruni (Private Secretary of the Presidency), Raúl Romero (Minister of Development), Miguele Martínez (Head of the Centro de Gobernación), and the Ministry of Interior. Benito earned a reputation for his close relationship with Jimmy Morales, and substantial corruption allegations have been levied against him in recent years. In October 2020, the Guatemalan Attorney General issued an arrest warrant against Benito on money laundering charges.
In response to the now-public allegations, the Giammattei administration has continued persecuting anti-corruption officials. Of course, the Giammattei government’s hostile policy towards anti-corruption lawyers and justices is not new, but last week’s events provoked a new wave of arrests. Two officials from the Special Prosecutor Against Impunity (abbreviated “FECI” in Spanish) office were arrested, and Attorney General Consuelo Porras requested withdrawing Judge Erika Aifán’s immunity. Aifán is one of the most senior justices in Guatemala, often presiding over high profile corruption cases, and her court was processing these corruption allegations against Giammattei. Aifán is no stranger to threats or intimidation, and she told El País when asked in an interview who is behind the threats against her,
“No puedo dar un nombre, un apellido, porque temo que todos estos ataques han sido sistematizados, estructurados, diseñados estratégicamente. Y que más allá de ir contra la persona, van contra la institución, los juzgados de mayor riesgo y el trabajo que significan las funciones jurisdiccionales. Van contra la independencia del Poder Judicial.”
There are few signs that the anti-corruption environment in Guatemala will improve in the near term. Guatemalan politicians have repeatedly successfully ousted anti-corruption officials with few consequences, and there has been no fundamental change for the better in the government culture between the Morales and Giammattei governments. Guatemala’s anti-anti-corruption push is partly consistent with the broader trend in Central America.
Internationally, options remain limited too. These recent revelations into the corrupt mechanisms supporting the Giammattei government are unlikely to dramatically shift U.S. posture towards the country. As the El Faro report mentions, the Department of State and the FBI have been privy to the testimony that was leaked to El Faro describing the scheme for several months. Last June when Vice President Harris visited Guatemala, the Guatemalan government was seen as the least problematic government in the Northern Triangle. Given the challenges that have appeared after that visit, the U.S. has clearly put its eggs in the Honduras basket since Xiomara Castro took office. U.S. officials are likely to wait for a true crisis moment against Giammattei before using all the available leverage against the Guatemalan President.